


~Transformation In Progress~ An Invader Zim Fanfiction

by Savy123xp



Series: Transformation In Progress (TIP) [1]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Gaslighting, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mild Gore, Obsessive Behavior, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Teen Crush, Teen Dib (Invader Zim), Teen Zim (Invader Zim)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28167072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Savy123xp/pseuds/Savy123xp
Summary: All it takes is for someone to notice... And that someone may just save you...Mabye.../////Love makes us do crazy things...
Relationships: Dib/Lola, Lola/Zib, Zim/Lola
Series: Transformation In Progress (TIP) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2063478
Comments: 16
Kudos: 12





	1. ~Chapter 1 - A Suprising Day~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aliens Exist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can also read this fanfiction here: https://my.w.tt/ImPISN1Zkcb

Dib sighed as he let his chin rest on his palm. He was studying one of Miss Bitters's lectures about the Great Depression and how humanity would eventually repeat it. Just random bullcrap again, like always.

As he looked up from the depressing book, he noticed someone climbing one of the various half-dead trees that were strewn around the empty park. At first he had assumed it way just a random teen being crazy, doing a dare or something. But as Dib got more curious, he began to notice who it was.

It was Lola Grace Beaufort, his old kindergarten and gradeschool best friend. He could recognize her raven hair from miles away, but she was slightly different then he remembered. For one, she had become quite beautiful. Not that she wasn't beautiful before, but children in kindergarten tend not to pay attention to looks too much. Also, she had seemed to develop a mild sort of Vitiligo, but that might have just been the rays of sunshine shining onto her light, toasty skin. Of course that would never have changed, her skin was something that Dib had always admired. Not only was it a beautiful shade and hue, but it contrasted her personality perfectly. A heart of gold mixed with a good humor and firey passion. Not to mention that she never judged him for his interests like the other kids did. Everything about her he admired.

Dib's eyes widened in awe as his face flushed a light shade of red. That proved it, he hadn't lost his feelings for her. As he watched her continue to scale the tree, he quickly snapped out of his trance and noticed that she had put her weight onto the wrong branch.

Lola struggled to steady herself before the branch beneath her started to crack. Dib took this as a hint to warn her, but he knew that he was way too far from her to shout and have her hear. So he quickly pushed the heavy book to the side and started to dart across the small field. Sure enough, the branch that held her up broke, and she began to fall. Dib's veins coursed with new adrenaline as he pushed his legs to go faster, trying to get to her before she hit the grass. And just by the skin of his teeth, he did.

He had clenched his eyes shut it fear of a loud impact that it never came. All he heard was a small, "Oof" and felt something drop into his arms. Dib steadily opened one eye, seeing that he had caught her in his arms, bridal style. A sign of relief left his lips as he opened his other eye.

Lola's awestruck expression gazed back at him, a small blush appearing on her cheeks. Soon her expression slowly shifted into a smug grin, crossing her arms as she looked at him with piercing emerald eyes. Then she finally spoke with an angelic voice.

"Well, well, well, Dib Membrane… we meet again."

Deciding to play along with her joke, Dib slowly smiled with equal smugness back at her.

"Glad to see you haven't changed Lola Beaufort."

Striken with fading adrenaline and newfound childish glee, Dib twirled her around in his arms. Her angelic laughs resonated through the park, melodic in their ups, downs, and repetitive hiccups. A small smile tugged at his lips as his face grew hot again. He had missed that laugh. Just that laugh alone gave him immeasurable amounts of courage. He never wanted this moment to end, no matter how dizzy he got. There was no doubt about it, he was in love.

Meanwhile, A sertain aliens face twisted in disgust behind them. He made an audible grunt to get their attention.

"Ugh, what a disgusting display of human affection."

Dib's face fell as he stopped twirling, carefully putting Lola down onto the dry grass. He signed heavily, displeased by the alien's presence.

"Lola, this is Zim. He's an alien here to *snicker* take over Earth."

Dib held back laughter as he finished his sentence, struggling to keep himself from bursting out into laughter as the disdain became more prominent on Zim's face. Lola however did not hold back and began clutching her stomach as she struggled to form words through the gasping and bellowing.

"Really? This little guy?"

Lola hovered her hand over Zim's head to try and match up his height to her own.

"Do not patronize the Almighty Zim, human!"

Lola just laughed harder.

Dib found solace in the fact that she also found Zim's planned "conquest" amusing. Her sense of humor hadn't changed at all.

Lola then made a huge mistake.

Before Dib could process what was goon, Lola had grabbed Zim by his waist and had lifted him into her gentle arms,, holding him as if he were a newborn baby. He saw Zim's face flush instantly and he began making stuttering noises, almost as if he was unsure of what to say.

Dib had to give her credit for one thing, she had achieved the impossible: managing to silence Zim.

It wasn't long before he had regained his composure though, blush vanishing from his face as if a it were ghost.

"I demand you put me down, human female."

He said it in such a low, menacing tone that even Dib was intimidated. A shiver ran up Lola's spine briefly before she immediately complied to Zim's order, setting him down carefully while shaking.

He quickly got up off the ground, brushing off his Invader uniform and strutting away proudly.

Lola looked at Dib briefly before turning to look back at Zim. What Dib could only assume was a lovestruck smile had been painted across her face. Dib would have been happy, if it were him she had been fawning over.

"That... was kinda cute."

Dib gasped in surprise. His mouth hung open in vacancy, only the ghosts of words coming out as he was stunned into silence.

Lola just stared back at him blankly before she realized what she had just said.

"W-What? Why are you looking at me like that? Is it weird to like him or something?"

Even though she hid her face, Dib could still see that her ears and nose had turned bright red from embarrassment. He shook himself out of his shocked state.

"Yes it's weird! This is ZIM we are talking about! He is an alien from outer space, Lola!"

Lola looked confused for a moment, before a sudden stream of laughter burst from her throat. Soon she regained her composure, wiping a small tear from her eye as she smiled at him.

"Good one, Dib. But you really shouldn't make fun of someone's skin condition by calling them an alien. I should know."

Dib's heart immediately sank to the floor, a mixture of familiar frustration and anxiety washing over him. Did she really think he was joking? Did she not take him seriously?

"What? I'm fucking not joking, Lola! Did you not notice his weird "backpack"? Or his wig? Or-"

Lola sighed, cutting him off.

"Well, clearly you and me see very different things."

Dib scoffed in disgust at her defensive words and turned away from her, slowly walking back to the tree he was previously reading under.

"Whatever, don't listen to me. I'm used to it anyways."

Lola's face softened as she watched an unhappy Dib trudge away. She wanted more than anything to apologize and comfort him, but if he was anything like the Dib she knew in gradeschool, it'd be best to leave him be.

With that, she turned away as well and started walking toward the sidewalk, almost equally upset as him.

Little did she know, a certain alien had been eavesdropping on their conversation the whole time. His mind quickly conjured up many ideas on how to take advantage of the human female's "affections" for him, and her ignorance to his true identity.

A devious plan started to unfold in his head.

One of his favorite hobbies was exploited Dib's weaknesses to make him miserable and mock him. If Lola's reaction to Zim asserting his dominance had caused such a big upset in Dib, then how would he react to...

Zim quickly dismissed that thought as soon as it entered his mind, but slowly started to realize how increasingly appealing it became.

One thing was for sure, he was going to have fun with this new human.


	2. ~Chapter 2 - A Tense Lunchtime~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karma

Dib had gotten used to the eyes on his back long ago, but something about today just felt different. Mabye it was because of all the butterflies in his stomach every time she looked at him with a warm smile. An unknowing smile.

Lola was lucky that she didn't have many judgmental eyes on her, but that's not to say she didn't have any eyes on her at all. She happened to have one, specific pair that he detested strongly, but she didn't see them the same way.

Dib didn't know what those eyes were planning when they were were fixed on her, but he knew it wasn't good.

He saw Zim staring at her from across the lunchroom, and part of him thought that was the point. To make him jealous. Then again, there was always a small change that Zim did actually care for her. Maybe there was some emotion behind that cold invader's stare.

No.

Dib knew Zim wasn't stupid. He knew that Zim knew getting involved with any human affection would only hinder his plans for world conquest. So why was he interested in her at all?

"Hey, Dib."

Lola nudged his shoulder to get his attention away from Zim.

"You ok? You've been glaring at him for 20 minutes now. Are you planning something?"

Dib shifted his gaze to her, a small blush dusting his cheeks.

"You were timing me?"

Lola just smirked at him in response.

"Weirdo."

"Says the one that believes in aliens."

Dib glared at her for a moment before turning his attention back to Zim, crossing his arms and resting his chin on them.

"I don't believe in them. I know they exist, there's one staring at you right now."

Lola looked across the room at Zim, sitting by himself at a table in the corner opposite to them.

"Really funny, Dib. I'm gonna go talk to him."

Dib snapped out of his glaring trance and stared at her, eyes widening.

"But, what about me?"

Lola rolled her eyes.

"You're not 5 year's old anymore, Dib. I'll be back in a minute."

He looked after her in desperation as she got up from the table and started to walk towards Zim's table. He frantically motioned for her to come back, but she just shrugged and continued walking.

~10 Minutes Later~

Dib sighed as he longingly observed Lola chatting with Zim in the corner.

"Jealous much?"

Dib herd his sister's monotone voice speak down to him.

"They see to be hitting it off well."

"Too well. I wish she would look at me like that."

Dib watched Zim suddenly reach out a gloved hand to Lola mid conversation, which she took cautiously. Then he saw something that made his heart almost stop.

Dib saw his mortal enemy pull his crush into an awkwardly positioned hug, leaving her slightly confused and flustered. What was worse? Zim was glaring over her shoulder at him, with a sly grin on his ugly green face.

That bastard knew what he did.

After a few seconds of tense silence, Gaz slowly looked up from her Game Slave at her brother with one raised brow.

"You gonna do something about that? Or are you just gonna sit there and let her slip through your fingers again?"

Dib's fingernails dug into his trench coat, tearing through the black fabric and piercing a few layers of skin.

That wouldn't stand.

Without warning, Dib grabbed Gaz's soda can from her and pitched it across the lunchroom at Zim's head, knocking off his cheaply-made wig.

After checking to see if he was okay, Lola quickly stormed over to Dib's table, eyes darkening.

Gaz just chuckled as she got up from the table and walked away.

"Someone's screwed."

"Geez Dib, that was a bit extreme, don't you think?"

But was it worth loosing you?

Dib ignored her, his mouth hung open as he pointed to Zim, who was also glaring at him.

"What!? Did you not see his antenna?!"

Lola looked over her shoulder at Zim then back at Dib, clearly annoyed and confused.

"Dib, this really isn't the time right now."

Dib facepalmed.

"Will you please go apologize to Zim, I'm sure he would appreciate-"

Dib's fists clenched before he slammed the table and lifted himself so he was in her face. Way too close to her face.

"Why would I apologize to the enemy?"

Lola looked shocked, and maybe slightly disgusted.

"Why would you say something so horrible?"

Lola scoffed at him before storming away, violently shoving oven the heavy lunchroom door.

One of the kids yelled at Dib from one of the tables.

"You're crazy!"

Dib looked behind him at Gaz, searching for any sort of support. She just shruged and rolled her eyes, continuing to play her game slave.

"Looks like you got some work to do, Dib."

Gaz paused her game for a moment and grabbed Dib's hand, stuffing the gaming console into her purse. She began leading him out the lunchroom doors in fury filled steps, speed walking with familiar stiffened back.

"She's determined about something."


	3. ~Chapter 3 - A Lot To Learn~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love

"Where are we going!"

Gaz's grip on Dib's wrist tightened as she pulled him down the hall, stopping at a dead end for some reason.

Her face locked into an intense expression as she glared at him with some intention he couldn't wrap his head around.

Gaz suddenly grabbed Dib's shoulders and pulled him closer to her.

Her face had darkened, eluding to festering anger, but with no strong emotion present.

Without warning, Gaz violently shoved her bespectacled brother against the wall.

"You are a real doofus, Dib. For someone with such a big head, you are really dumb when it comes to girls."

"One: I don't have a big head. Two: What do you expect? I've never even had a crush before! Let alone seen a-"

Her nose wrinkled, immediately telling Dib that he needed to zip it and listen.

Gaz had always been more of a parent to Dib then his actual father was. And after 16 years of being smacked a few times and having the sense knocked into him, it became more and more easy to read her signals and tell when he needed to shut it.

"What I'm trying to say is that girls are more sensitive than you think. They pick up on things about you that you didn't even know were there. You need to pay attention to the signals she gives you too. A good place to start is with her eyes."

Gaz opened her eyes as an example to him. Dib observed them closely.

Her amber irises sparked with anger and annoyance, but some kind of constrained caring shone behind them. The kind of caring behind a glare that only a sister can give you.

Dib stared in slight awe, observing her eyes closely as if he was analyzing a test. A little too closely for Gaz's liking.

"Alright enough. You can't make it so obvious. It's kinda creepy if you stare for too long. But I guess since she's friends with you, creepy is okay with her. Speaking of which."

Gaz's voice became slightly hoarse at her last sentence, mainly because this was the most she had ever talked in one sitting.

Clearing her throat before she had to speak again, Gaz closed her eyes and looked behind them, subtly gesturing for Dib to get going.

"You don’t want to keep her waiting."

"R-Right."

Gaz let go of her brother's shoulders and backed away from him, looking slightly less stern than before.

Dib quickly broke into a sprint down the hallway, forgetting to say thank you to Gaz before speeding off. But something told him that she was okay with letting it go this time.

"Good luck, dork."

~Meanwhile~

Zim stared at the weeping human sitting on the concrete steps with vacancy, trying to formulate a plan on how to comfort her. 

The alien hadn't the faintest idea on how to express human affection, let alone what it was. He assumed it was what she was displaying to him by retrieving his wig when it had tumbled off his head. Or the unusually warm smile that was always on her face when they spoke at lunch.

Oh well, something to research later.

Zim sat down next to Lola on the hard steps, putting a gloved hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

She looked up at him, eyes sparking with tears as they continued to roll down her face.

Even though the awful liquid leaching from her eyes disgusted him, he wiped it away with his gloved thumb in a gentle manner.

"Are you okay, Lo-la?"

Zim struggling to say her name right made Lola giggle. His unintentional humor made her feel a little bit better.

"Yeah, how about you? That can hit you pretty hard, did it leave a bruise?"

Lola's hand gently touched Zim's forehead, feeling for any lumps or dents in his cranium.

"The Almighty Zim could not be injured by any human-made liquid container, but he appreciates your concern, Lola-human."

Lola giggled again as she retracted her hand.

"Good."

After a few minutes of silence, Zim felt it was the perfect time to ask the kind human what he had been waiting all day to say.

"Lola-human."

She looked back up at Zim with a warm smile.

"Yes?"

He gulped, preparing himself.

"WILLYOUBEMYLOVEPIG?!"

The sudden volume increase of Zim's voice caught her off guard, making her flinch and let out a small yelp.

"Sorry, could you repeat that?"

Zim cleared his throat.

"I said, will you be my love pig?"

Lola's face instantly flushed.

"Y-You want me to be your girlfriend?"

Zim looked confused.

"No, I said love pig. What is a girl-friend?"

Lola gave herself a few seconds to calm her pounding heart before responding.

"A girlfriend is like a significant other. Someone that you are romantically involved with. A lover of sorts."

Zim pondered this information for a moment.

"What is romantically?"

Lola's mouth lay agape.

"Are you kidding me? How have you not had a partner before?"

Zim looked clueless as to what she meant.

"ENOUGH QUESTIONS! Be glad you are Zim's first part-ner, Lola-human!"

With that, Zim sprung off the steps and dashed away, abruptly ending their conversation.

It took Lola a moment to process what had just happened, but the figure hidden in shadow behind her understood it clearly.

"What the fuck... was that."

"Excuse me?"

Lola looked behind herself to see Dib with an expression that she could only describe as restrained rage. His hands were shaking and she could have sworn she saw a few veins pop out.

Lola frowned intensely at the bespectacled boy as she stood up from the concrete steps, crossing her arms in disapproval.

"First of all, language. Second of all, why are you so jealous of me and Zim? He was just coming out here to comfort me, and I think you owe him an apology for throwing a can at his head."

Though Dib's eyes narrowed at her, some of the rage had begun to fade from his face and was replaced with sorrow.

He took a few steps forward and bowed his head, sadness completely changing his voice.

"I just need you to be safe around him. He can be very dangerous, and I have a feeling that something is gonna to go horribly wrong."

Lola's face softened as she saw a few tears roll down her friend's face.

Had she said something wrong? She had never meant to make Dib feel like this. She loved him.

"I-I'm just worried that you'll get h-hurt."

His voice began stuttering as he wiped his nose with his coat sleeve, still looking at his feet in shame, not wanting to meet her gaze.

That did it.

Lola wasted no time stepping forward and wrapping her arms tightly around Dib, pulling him into a warm, protecting hug.

"It's okay, I understand now."

That was all the confirmation Dib needed to start hugging her back and sobbing openly into her shoulder, gripping her waist tightly in fear of letting her go again.

Lola rubbed his back in a soothing manner, shushing him like a mother holding her weeping baby.

The few minutes they stood there were filled with Dib whispering gibberish apologies into her shoulder, and Lola letting out a few tears as well as comforting words.

They both still had a lot to learn about each other.

Meanwhile, a certain green alien watched the scene of affection with hidden curiosity.

If human affection had this many tears involved, he would rather pass on it.

More plans started to unfurl in his mind as he observed the two finally break contact and start walking down the concrete path, hand in hand.

Only determination was present on his face as he shrunk back into the darkness, ruby eyes glinting with deceit and mischief.

He was gonna have to try a little harder with this one.


	4. ~Chapter 4 - A Slightly Desperate Situation~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every Breath You Take

Gaz let out a long, drawn out groan as she looked up from her Game Slave for a moment, glaring at her pathetic brother huddled between the bushes with camera in hand.

She stared a little too long at those bushes, they were two of the very few that had survived in the park since she was a kid. They barely had any leaves left.

Gaz focused on them specifically, their faded earthy colors bringing back many memories of a simpler time.

She shifted her gaze back over to her brother.

Zim and Lola had been dating for a few weeks now, and Dib had never taken his eyes off them. Not for one second. Creep. She almost pitied him in a way though.

Almost.

"You really don't trust her, do you?"

Dib looked up at his younger sister with an unamused glare before returning to his former position.

"It's not her that I don't trust, it's Zim. Irkens can't love, you've seen it before."

Dib let a melancholic sigh, dropping his defensiveness slightly.

"I'm just scared that he's gonna do to her what he did to the others."

Gaz raised a brow.

"If there's one thing you can trust me on, it's that I won't let him do that to her."

"Whatever."

Dib returned to observing the "happy couple" from afar.

Many passersby (mainly old ladies) had commented at how sweet they looked together, or how precious and rare young love was. Bullshit. Not that he blamed them for it though, they didn't understand what Zim really was.

They were standing next to an ice cream cart together, sharing a frozen yogurt and doing other cliché couple stuff. Well, Lola was eating the ice cream, Zim was harassing the vendor for some arbitrary reason that Dib didn't care to find out. Something about how human money is worthless, ya know, the usual.

It disgusted him how happy they seemed together. Dib knew that Lola wasn't happy with him though, she has to be faking it.

To say he was jealous would be a massive understatement. The bespectacled teen was basically fuming whenever they did any sort of PDA together.

Dib could hear two all too familiar voices in the back of his head, whispering questions that she wanted to ask her, and things that he wanted so desperately to tell her.

"Why do you choose him? He's not good enough for you. Pick me instead. Why don't you notice me? Pick me. I try so hard for you. Pick me. If you could just stop looking at him… Pick me. Maybe you would realize how much I love you. Pick me.  
Lola… please…  
Pick me.  
Stop  
Me.  
Looking  
Me.  
At  
ME.  
HIM!!

Crack!

Dib's tensing grip had caused a small fissure in the glass lens of his camera, making a noise that definitely alerted everyone in the area.

Dib yelped when he saw Lola look in his direction, supposedly searching for where the sudden sound came from, while Zim paid no attention.

Dib frantically ducked behind the almost leafless bushes, detaching the broken lens and shoving it, as well as the camera, into his pocket.

Meanwhile, Gaz looked on from the tree behind him, shaking her head in disapproval as she continued to mindlessly play her Game Slave.

"That was close."

Dib nestled back into the bushes, searching the area for the falsely happy couple. They were no longer eating ice cream and were now walking down the sidewalk from where they came, holding hands all the while.

He was surprised to see Zim looking over his shoulder in Dib's direction, shooting him an evil grin as if he had known the whole time that he had been watching.

Dib narrowed his eyes in response to his alien nemesis as the couple walked away, zipping behind a tree to update his sister on what had just happened.

Gaz blinked up at her lovesick brother with the usual annoyed glare, expecting him to start talking her head off at the right queue. But to her surprise, words never left his mouth.

It took Dib a few minutes to put together a coherent sentence (not that he ever said anything coherent) before he spoke.

Though he did try many times, Dib couldn't find it in himself to say anything about it. He felt like he had nothing left to say, that the words had been stamped out of him.

"Do you mind giving me a minute? I need to think things over."

Gaz chuckled mockingly, crossing her arms as she stared at him with a smug look.

"You, think things over?"

Her smirk quickly retreated from her face as she saw that Dib was being quite serious. Gaz sighed and pulled her Game Slave back out of her purse.

"Whatever, you get 5 minutes."

"Five Minutes Later~

Dib's legs swung back and forth, dangling over the thick tree branch just 5 inches above his grungy sister's head.

"Hey, Gaz, why do the smart girls always date the assholes?"

Gaz shrugged.

"Well, if this supposed 'smart girl' is dating Zim, then she probably wasn't too smart to begin with."

Gaz looked up at her unusually quiet brother, opening her eyes so that he could observe them. Dib quickly noticed some sort of concern placed behind them amidst the dull brown.

"Come on, Dib. Let's go home."

Gaz's usually monotone voice had given way to a softer, more comforting one. This kind of behavior was certainly strange for her.

Dib hopped out of the tall tree, just barely keeping his balance as he landed on the shriveled grass below. He turned toward his impatience sister with a sigh, smoothing his scythe-shaped hair back in place.

"Yeah, let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short filler chapter to hold you guys over for a few days. The next chapter will probably take a little longer than usual (because it is quite long), so hang in there. I promise it will be worth it~
> 
> Stay tuned ;)


	5. ~Chapter 5 - A Secret Admirer?~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You Belong With Me

Zim looked at the poster attached to the student notice board with strong inquisition, staring at it for a bit longer than what was considered normal by human standards.

"Hey, Zim. You've been staring at that poster for an hour now. Are you okay?"

Zim swiveled around in an instant, presumably to tirade the pitiful human who dared to question The Mighty Zim's motives, but found it only to be Lola.

"I am feeling perfectly normal today, Lola-Human. Although, Zim appreciates your pitiful concern."

Lola giggled once again at his nickname for her.

He always called her that when he was mad or embarrassed. She admired his ultimately fruitless attempts at being phlegmatic, it gave him a sense of quirkiness that she admired. Hell, he was probably the quirkiest person she had ever met, minus Dib of course.

"Well that's good. Anyway, I was wondering why you were staring at that poster for so long. Have you never been to a school dance before?"

Zim tilted his head slightly, raising a brow in confusion.

"What is this 'skool danse' that Zim keeps hearing about? Lately the other humans seem to be quite fond of it."

Lola giggled slightly at his incomprehension.

"School dances are overall important because they serve as a way for students to forget about what may be going on outside of the dance, and just have a fun night. That's what makes them fun."

Zim stroked his chin in inquisition, nodding in agreement as he started to understand the concept.

"So these 'school dances' are for recreational purposes? Interesting."

Zim placed a hand on his hip, dramatically pointing to Lola as other students walked by aptly.

"Very well, you have intrigued Zim, Lola-human. He will accompany you to the dance for the intended recreational purposes."

Lola smiled warmly.

"Good, see you there, Zim~"

Lola leaned in close to where Zim's ears would be and gave him a small peck on the cheek, before skipping away with childish giggles, face practically on fire.

Zim was caught off guard by the sudden act of mild affection, so it took a few seconds… or maybe minutes for the action to register.

Suddenly it hit him, anxiousness quickly painting his face with dread.

Crap...

He was gonna have to find something to wear.

~Later~

Lola held up a lipstick and lipgloss in her hand, struggling to decide which one would go with her outfit.

Jeez, was she really pining over a boy? Lola had never thought her feelings would reduce her to suck a girly trope. Guess her Mom was right. "Love does some crazy shit to people." Then again, Lola didn't think high parents were exactly a holy beacon of information, nor reliable either.

"Whatever, I'll just go with the gloss. Never liked the feel of lipstick anyway."

Lola was using her mom's old hand mirror to help see where she was applying it. She had borrowed it from her mom's room a few hours ago while she was sleeping, though she didn't think her mom used it much anyway. There was tons of stuff her mom didn't use anymore, like Dad.

Lola laughed to herself.

Just the thought that they consummated to create her seemed slightly dubious, especially by her parents standard. Anyway, she had a dance to prepare for.

After she was done applying the lipgloss and a small amount of blush (People always told her she was a natural beauty anyway), Lola turned to the large cution she called a bed.

It was certainly strange to see such an expensive looking dress in the room of what society deemed a, "poor kid". Simple things like that just reminded Lola of how financially wrong this family was. Though it was nice of Ms. Sarah to lend this hand-me-down dress to her.

Sometimes she felt that people took pity on her. Whatever, she was probably just overthinking their kindness.

After staring at the dress for a few minutes, the tension became too much to handle. For the first time in a while, something overpowered her anxiety and she actually became excited to put it on.

She wondered if burgundy would complement her figure well.

Knock, Knock, Knock!

Lola was slightly startled at the loud noise, making her hurry to grab a robe as she sprinted to the front door.

Lola struggled to catch her breath, both from the dash to the front door and the increased pounding of her heart.

"Is Zim here? Did Mom get something delivered?"

She opened the door to find, not a human being, but a small bundle of yellow, white, violet, and orange daffodils. An envelope also seemed to be tied to them with a ruby ribbon.

Once she untied it, Lola discovered that the letter had no information on its back, not even a name. She opened it and read the note.

"These flowers will convey my message to you, better than my words could.

\- Someone you know"

Lola took a moment to process the information, trying to remember what different colored daffodils in a bouquet meant

"Yellows mean unrequited love, whites mean purity, purples mean self-obsession, and oranges mean enthusiasm."

(Author's note: I did too much research for this -_-)

Suddenly a strange, but not undesirable thought entered her mind.

"Do I have a secret admirer?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, we have officially ended ACT 1 baby! *Celibration Noices* Wooooo! Thanks so much to all that have been supporting me thus far! This is the first fanfiction that I am actually taking (semi) seriously, and it's nice to know there are peep out there that enjoy reading my content.
> 
> Anyway, enough about me, ACT 2 will begin in the next chapter. Don't worry, you won't have to wait too long, I have a game plan ;) Bye for now~!


	6. ~Chapter 6 - I'm In Love(?)~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> West Coast

**_West Coast_ **

  
  


Zim tapped his overly-shined shoes against the marble floor impatiently, keeping a stone cold look on his face as he stared into space.

Dib observed the Irken with curiosity.

Even throughout all of middle school, the Irken invader had only grown to be a mere 4'8". While Dib had grown to a rather unpredicted 6'0", he still only reached his fathers hip in comparison.

For a minute, he had seemed to forget that Zim was an evil alien invader, and mostly thought of him as an unusually short bully. Amusingly short.

"Heh, shorty."

No sooner than the words left Dib's mouth, Zim had turned to him slowly with the stony glare on his face intensified.

_ "Shit! Did I say that out loud?" _

"What did you refer to Zim as, Filthy Worm Baby?"

Zim took a menacing step forward. Dib clamped his mouth shut.

"N-None of your business, Irken Scum!"

He tried to sound confident with his shaking words, but Dib knew that even someone as dim-witted as Zim would see through this pitiful attempt.

"Liar! Tell Zim what words escaped your mouth hole!"

Zim was now only a few inches away from him, trying to threaten Dib by hoisting himself up with his PAK legs. He grasped onto the lapels of the teens suit, pulling him closer to where their noses would be touching if Zim had one.

It was obvious that he wouldn't back down unless Dib found a way to discourage him. So he cut the tension the most effective way he knew how.

"Are we about to kiss, space boy?"

Zim's face immediately flushed red as he began reeling, looking away from Dib in embarrassment and uncomfort.

Zim quickly retracted his PAK legs with shame on his face, returning to his normal height below Dib as a faint sound from down the hall earned both of their attention.

The two embarrassed rival's looked over to see that the double doors at the entrance of the school had been swung open, revealing a figure that rapidly approached them.

Once the form came into clear view, the two boy's jaws dropped as if in sync with one another.

In all the exploration of the stars they'd both done, there was nothing that could possibly compare to this goddess given human form.

**(Author's Note: I'll spare you some more exposition, and just give you this image to help explain what they see a little better)**

Both Dib and Zim struggled to comprehend the sheer beauty before them, trying to reestablish their postures to seem at least somewhat practical.

Zim cleared his throat to get Lola's attention, loosening his collar to seemingly distract from his increasingly reddening face.

"G-Greetings Lola-human, now that you seem to be in suitable attire, will you see Zim to the dancing area?"

Lola rolled her eyes at his exaggerated chivalry, grabbed his wrist and leading him to the school gym in an excited manner.

Dib watched as Zim fumbled for his balance at the sudden action, scuffing the marble floor with his new shoes. The Irken practically acting as if he were skating on a frozen lake.

Dib laughed at that thought.

  
  


**_~A Little While Later~_ **

  
  


Lola smiled at Zim as she held her punch in one hand and his hand in the other.

They were seated together at one of the many foldable tables in the gym, a few sugary snacks placed rather neatly on each one.

"Thanks for coming with me, Zim.”

"It’s of no trouble, Lola-human. I’d like to learn more of these human 'dances'."

The gym was decorated in many colorful streamers held from nails in the walls. Other things like posters that read, "dance" or "fun" were also scattered around randomly. The smell of sweaty children slightly lingered in the air from the dodgeball session from yesterday, but it seemed to hardly bother the two love birds.

All Zim could seem to focus on was the feeling of Lola's hand intertwined with his.

Meanwhile, Dib seemed to be having what could be best described as the opposite of what was considered a good time. If he wasn't near the closest trash can puking his guts out, he was most likely at a random table, accompanied by his infinitely apathetic sister.

Gaz could tune out Dib's wining most of the time, but this was a whole different level of pathetic that she had never seen from him before.

"Why does she love him? There are so many better people out there. She could do so much better."

Dib frowned while he watched them sit together and hold hands.

"She should be dancing with me…"

Dib's words trailed off as he hung his head in defeat, smushing his face onto the plastic table and groaning loudly.

"For the last time, Dib. I… don't… care."

Suddenly, a voice spoke over the intercom, earning all of the chattering students attention.

"Attention, students! It’s time for the obligatory slow dance. Find yourself a partner and move to the dance floor if you wish to participate."

"Slow dance? Are they going to bring out a time warper and slow down the flow of time?!"

Lola chuckled.

"I wish, but no. A slow dance is where they play some sort of love song on the speakers and you’re supposed to dance slowly to it."

"Oh, I liked the time warp idea better."

Zim pouted to himself, face getting slightly red at the idea of being close to her.

"Yeah, me too. Wanna slow dance anyway?"

Lola lifted herself off the chair and outstretched a hand to Zim. He grabbed it hesitantly without a word, only the slightly audible noise of him gulping.

Lola gently lifted him from his chair as well and led him over to the dance floor as other students joined them.

Dib, meanwhile, covered his face in repulsion and envy.

"I can't watch this."

Upon observing how the other students were dancing, Zim gently put his gloved hands around Lola's waist.

She giggled as she put hers on his shoulders.

Lola could clearly see that Zim was very nervous, but a soft look in her eyes reassured him.

Soon the music began, and all Zim could seem to focus on was her.

She was almost hypnotic in her beauty, with rays of colored light from the disco ball shining over her face and painting her body. Even Dib brought himself to uncover his eyes to observe as well.

Zim followed Lola's gentle movements, hips swaying with hers in a rhythm that let the music take the reigns.

"Down on the West Coast they got a sayin'

'If you're not drinkin' then you're not playin'

But you've got the music, you've got the music

In you, don't you?"

Lola mouthed the words as she gazed into Zim’s eyes, and a certain ruby hue behind his irises stared back. It surprised her a little, but she chose to ignore it for now.

"Down on the West Coast, I get this feeling like

It all could happen, that's why I'm leaving

You for the moment, you for the moment

Boy blue, yeah you."

There may have not been a time warper nearby, but time still felt like it was slowing down nonetheless.

"You're falling hard, I push away, I'm feelin' hot to the touch

You say you miss me and I wanna say I miss you so much

But something keeps me really quiet, I'm alive, I'm a lush

Your love, your love, my love."

Suddenly the other students seemed to melt away in a haze, and soon it felt as if Lola and Zim were the only ones in the room.

"I can see my baby swinging

His Parliament's on fire and his hands are up

On the balcony and I'm singing

Ooh baby, ooh baby, I'm in love."

Zim's gazed deeply into her emerald green eyes. They looked almost as if they twinkled with stardust.

“I can see my sweet boy swaying

He's crazy y cubano como yo, la-la."

Zim never thought he’d ever feel anything like affection in his life. He used to think affection was for the weak, but all of that changed once he met her. He never expected a human to be on his list of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen, but she was.

“On the balcony and I'm saying

Move baby, move baby, I'm in love I'm in love

(I'm in love) I'm in love."

Zim had travelled throughout the universe and had seen his fair share of beautiful things, but Lola? She surpassed every single one of those things. It was so much more than just her physical appearance as well.

She was strong, intelligent, and most importantly...

She was open minded.

Lola never judged nor made fun of him. She always gave Zim the respect he so rightfully deserved. She was the only one who understood his incredible genius. She was perfect in every way.

**_"I love you."_ **

Lola and Zim’s voices melted together as they gently pressed their foreheads together, barely even remembering where they were anymore. But it didn't matter, as long as they were in each other's arms.

They were only brought back to reality when the music had faded away completely.

Barely giving either of them time to brace for it, Zim’s instincts kicked in like a jolt of electrifying energy.

Without a second thought, he removed his hands from around her waist, cupped her face, and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

It wasn’t just any kiss, however. It was a first kiss. For the both of them.

Lola's eyes were wide for a moment before slowly closing as she let him explore every inch of her mouth, tongues playfully wrestling as Zim let out a few muffled chirps.

Dib was sure this was what rock bottom felt like if ever there was such a thing, now he was basically weeping and definitely considering jumping off a building. Even Gaz was stunned, opening both her eyes and putting her Game Slave down for a moment to process what was happening.

As quickly as it had started, the kiss was broken in an instant, leaving both Lola and Zim gasping for oxygen.

Once they both had regained their posture, the couple separated and blinked a few times in unison.

Suddenly, the reality of what they had just done began to crash upon them, faces becoming bright red with embarrassment and worry.

_ "I just kissed an alien!" _

_ "I just kissed a human!" _

_ "Oh my God, Dib was right!?" _

_ "Oh no no no no…" _

_ "This is…" _

_ "This is…" _

_ "Amazing!" _

_ "Horrible!" _

By the time they were done gathering their thoughts, the next song had already started playing and students began shoving them to the side.

The couple soon found their way out of the maze of teenagers and retreated to the snack table, faces still burning hot.

As Lola leaned against the wall to give herself a small pep talk, Zim frantically grabbed something out of what she assumed was his glowing backpack.

Zim quickly placed some sort of crumpled note in her idle hand, zipping off yet again and out the double doors that lead to the hall.

Lola looked confused for a moment as she looked down at her hand, examining the paper ball with curiosity. She uncrumpled the pink post-it note gently, being careful not to tear the edges.

Lola squinted her eyes, trying to make out the almost incoherent writing that she assumed was Zim's.

**_"You are graciously invited to accompany Zim to his humble abode for business purposes. You must arrive before the pathetic earth sun disappears tomorrow._ ** **_DO NOT_ ** **_be late, Zim is not very patient around this time._ **

**_With normal human love, Zim"_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOOO BOI, things are starting to get spicy! From here on out, everything is gonna start getting, shall we say… intense. (Not that this chapter wasn't intense as hell 0.0) So be prepared for that ;)
> 
> Btw, the absolutely fantastical fanart of Lola in her dress was made my CandyHeartedChy on Tumblr. Please go follow her, she makes awesome art just like this and even has her own comic. Go check out her stuff, and tell her I said hi!


	7. ~Chapter 7 - The Mirror's Just Someone Else~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branded

**_Branded_ **

Darkness was all Dib could see for miles as he traversed the vantablack landscape, wondering why and how he had even gotten there.

His legs were starting to cramp from all the walking he was doing. The more tired he got, the more he wished he had a chair-

Then there was a chair.

It had just appeared in front of him out of thin air, leathery texture a stark contrast against the smooth void he traversed.

So he did what anyone would do in this situation, sit in it.

It was quiet for a while as Dib just sat in a randomly placed chair in the vastness of this dark abyss.

Then something else appeared.

A 20 inch, silver mirror, supported by its unannounced levitating abilities, suddenly appeared right in front of him. Seemingly given no other choice, Dib stared into it, and a shadowy someone stared back.

Someone that vaguely resembled his silhouette, but also didn't. In fact, they kinda looked like…

"Zim, is that you?"

"Not… Zim, Not… Dib..."

The figure in the mirror spoke in a muffled, scratchy voice similar to his, but not the same. Then they became illuminated.

Their appearance didn't do much to solve Dib's mystery of who they were. Their face looked sleep deprived and groggy, as suggested by the heavy bags under their eyes, and their voice suggested they hadn't spoken in many days.

"Then, who  _ are  _ you?"

Before the figure could respond, the mirror was shattered by some sort of appendage, causing Dib to flinch backwards and make the chair lose balance.

No sound besides him grunting in pain was heard as he impacted with the shadowed floor, mirror shards cascading around him.

As Dib sat back up, he began to feel a sudden throbbing in the back of his head. It started to get more intense as he stood up, beating almost in the same manner as a heart. It felt like there was something attached to his head, weighing it down.

The strange throbbing soon turned into pulsing pains as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying the feel for what was causing it.

There was nothing there.

Suddenly the sensation of intense burning overcame him. It felt like he was completely soaked in water, but also being on fire at the same time.

**It was agonizing.**

Dib didn't feel like his body could take much more of this torment as he collapsed to his knees, trying to scream for it to stop. Eventually, his voice let him.

"Please stop it! I learned my lesson! I'll be better! I promise!"

The pain stopped all at once.

"Jeez, you're such a whiner."

Dib barely heard the voice behind him as quickly became overwhelmed with intense exhaustion and sleepiness from the intense pain that had overwhelmed his body just seconds ago. He collapsed completely onto what felt like a mattress, letting his limbs splay out and go limp.

The sensation of his sisters palm colliding with his cheek woke him from his night terror.

"Wake up, stupid. Stop making so much noise. I know you were upset about Lola last night, but this is getting out of hand."

Dib stared at his sister with an, 'Are you serious?' look.

"Well what would you do if the love of your life was stolen from you by an alien invader?"

Gaz shrugged.

"I don't know. I know I wouldn't lose sleep over it though."

Dib sighed heavily, hugging his Ghostbusters pillow to his chest and looking at the floor.

Gaz looked as if she was pondering something for a moment, before seemingly making a decision and leaving his room.

After a few minutes she returned, holding some sort of drone with a camera attached that Dib had never seen before in her hands.

"I used it to creep out our neighbors when I was 6. If you really have a terrible feeling that something is going to happen, watch out for it yourself."

With that, Gaz shoved the drone and some sort of old controller into her brother's hands, stomping out of his room in her usual annoyed evening fit.

Dib stared at the scuffed drone in his lap for a minute before flopping out of his bed, slumping over to his computer and attaching the flying camera along with its controller via spare cable.

After a few minutes of trying to figure out the steering and crashing onto the wall a few times, Dib finally got the hang of it. The drone whirred out the open window of his room, camera showing Dib its view of the neighborhood through his monitor.

_ "Let's see what Zim is up to." _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another small filer chapter of Dib's current situation. Also including some angry Gaz and possible *gasp* foreshadowing? Anyway, get your asses in gear for future chapters, it's gonna get angsty~ ;)


	8. ~Chapter 8 - What Awaits~

Lola walked down the sidewalk in an almost relaxed manner, looking mainly at the post it note in her hand. Besides the invitation she had read yesterday, it had directions to Zim's house on the back drawn by what she assumed was a 5 year old.

_ "Does Zim have a younger sibling? Guess I'll find out." _

It took surprisingly little time to find Zim's house, even with the poorly drawn instructions. There was a stark difference to it compared to the other houses it accompanied in the cul de sac.

It was rather small and lanky, with a mix of strange, bright colors and many other questionable adornments. The big wires sticking out of its sides and weird, beady eyed, gnomes on the lawn particularly made Lola question his parents taste for house decoration.

She had always hated those gnomes. Nevertheless, Lola had to remind herself that they were merely a discouragement that she had to overcome. Her curiosity had helped to push her outside her comfort zone before, it had surely helped with dating Zim. Now it was going to help with actually entering his home for the first time.

Lola took a deep breath as she stepped onto the strange, yellow pathway that led to his door.

When she walked past the garden gnomes, she had gotten this weird sensation that they were all staring at her. Except she wasn't imaging it this time, they actually  _ were _ staring at her.

Their eyes glowed an eerie red as she picked up her pace, practically sprinting across the walkway to avoid them.

As she stood catching her breath on the doormat, Lola suddenly felt intimidated by the large, purple door in front of her.

God, she was  _ actually _ going into his house. After all this time they had been dating? She'd never even met his pare-

Before Lola could work up the courage to push the doorbell, it opened, revealing the even stranger insides to her.

Large, tangled wires dorned the ceiling, along with the pungent aroma of pizza and moldy waffles. The walls were a lilac color with what appeared to be flying saucers all over them. The floor was checkered odd colors and there was a giant TV mounted on the wall, facing a couch and armchair. Strange paintings were also scattered here and there, one a particularly big monkey hung over the couch with an empty stare.

Before Lola could step inside, two tall, shadowy figures zipped in front of her to preemptively halt her.

"Welcome home, Son."

They fizzed and sparked in eerie unison with each other, strange outfits barely making up for the even stranger greeting. Lola assumed these were Zim's parents, after all, what else was she to assume?

"Hello, you must be Zim's parents, I'm-"

"We know who you are."

Lola stopped talking.

"Our little Zimmy has told us aaaaaall about you, Ms. Beaufort."

_ "Wait, Zim talks about me?" _

Lola's face flushed at the thought.

Suddenly the parents froze as an unfamiliar, somehow bipedal dog shoved between them.

It's fur was a bright lime green while it also had a painfully visible zipper going down its stomach. It's ears, tail and limbs were jet black, and it's tongue was sticking out in an almost playful manner.

The small creature didn't seem very focused on Lola specifically though. It's zany eyes frantically looked around for anything interesting until it noticed a squirrel digging in the dirt behind her.

The little doggy wattled past her, feet squeaking with each step as it made a 

b line for the fluffy nut muncher.

Lola looked on in utter confusion as it scrambled up a tree to try and capture the squirrel for some unknown reason. The thing didn't even acknowledge her presence until she whistled to get it's attention, giving the poor squirrel a chance to escape to its drey.

The small dog jumped out of the tree and wattled past Lola yet again, and back into the strange house. She could smell the odor of waffles become stronger as the furry creature sauntered back up to the door holding a plate of soggy waffles.

It held the plate up to Lola, seemingly offering them to her as a some sort of welcoming gift.

"No thank you. I'm not particularly hungry right now."

Lola choked back gag as she watched the small creature shrug and open its large mouth, consuming all the waffles along with the plate.

"Hi Gracey! Masta wants to see you in his secret place! Do you like the picture I drew?"

The creature's tail was wagging at an incredible speed as it grasped Lola's hand and started to lead her through the house. The house only seemed to become stranger as she, and the hiper canine traveled deeper into it.

Eventually they arrived at what appeared to be the bathroom. The furry creature pushed open the door and walked inside, pointing mysteriously at the toilet.

"Umm… I don't really need to use that right now. If you don't mind telling me, where is Zi-"

"He's down there."

Lola looked defeated at the small dog's misunderstanding, moving into the room and staring at the toilet, trying to search for anything abnormal.

Surprisingly, it seemed to be the most normal looking thing in the whole house so far, aside from the small doodles that covered its sides.

Suddenly, Lola felt something trip her and she lost her balance, falling head first into the bowl.

"Hey! What are you-"

GIR cut off her words by flushing the toilet, watching her spiral down until she disappeared with a comical popping noise. He waved goodbye to her with a cutesy smile.

"Bye-bye Gracey!"


	9. ~Chapter 9 - Lose Your Inhibitions~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hush

**_Hush_ **

  
  


Lola was too busy shooting down some sort of confined tube to notice GIR's wave from above, feeling almost like the small piece inside a groan tube or a bullet.

She soon landed with a thud inside a cylindrical elevator, almost too small for her to stand comfortably in. 

It barely gave Lola any time to brace as the elevator began to shake with acceleration, moving quickly deeper into the ground. It whizzed past various strange underground devices and embedded wires, finally grinding to a halt at what she assumed was the bottom floor.

Lola's eyes sparkled in amazement as the elevator settled and locked into place, opening its rusty doors to reveal an incredible scene before her.

It was far more than she could have hoped for, it was something that her imagination hadn't even come close to doing justice to. A million new things hit Lola's vision all at once, as though she were seeing a whole new world for the first time.

Massive wires draped themselves over rows of control panels and scientific tools. Screens and monitors adorned some of the panels, while others hung on the wall. Other things she didn't even have a name for were peppered across the room in an odd, yet organizational pattern. Not only were the images so fresh and different, but even the air in this room felt crisper and more defined, as though purified from any taintment that the outside world could attempt upon it.

There was a smell lingering upon the very material that everything seemed to be made out of, so familiar and yet so strange as well.

"Wow."

The amazement of the wealth of technology - all unknown and foreign to her - that the alien base housed completely took Lola's breath away.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

She suddenly felt a pair of familiar gloved hands lay themselves on her shoulders, making her flinch slightly and let out a small eep of noise.

The voice behind her chuckled.

"Of course it is. I'm the one who built it. You honestly didn't expect less than this, did you?"

The alien spoke in his usual haughty tone, yet something off put Lola about it. It was an unusually calculated tone. An increasing suspicion was hidden in the far corners of her mind.

"I… wasn't sure what to expect."

However, if there had been some standard that Lola was hoping for, this place easily surpassed it.

Having always been a big fan of advanced mechanisms and whatnot, Zim couldn't possibly have shown Lola anything else that would have made her want to squeal in elation like this did. Her naturally insatiable curiosity for anything she didn't understand added a level of adventure to the nerdy fangirl screaming inside of her. This was so perfect.

_ Almost _ perfect.

She still hadn't completely seen what Zim looked like under that crappy disguise.

As soon as Lola turned around to face him, her cheaks began flushing the brightest of reds, even if his appearance had only changed slightly.

He had long, black, almost bug-like antennas that stood at complete attention, facing in her direction exclusively. His eyes were a lovely ruby hue as well, they completely drew in all of her attention though. They glittered and shined in the dim lights of the room, briefly reflecting Lola's own flustered face back to her.

God, she wanted to kiss him again. And maybe do other things to him as well.

Suddenly, Zim broke the silence.

"You are free to roam about, just don't touch anything."

Snapping back to reality and barely allowing Zim to finish his sentence, Lola bolted from her position on the elevator in a blur.

Needless to say, the Irken's demands were easily ignored, and rapidly forgotten. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to press some giant red button labeled "Self Destruct" or anything… as long as she didn't happen to see one of course. Giant red buttons did reside in second place of the "Most Tempting Things to Mess With" list. First place would always be reserved for Zim though, for obvious reasons.

He allowed Lola a solid ten minutes of running around like a maniac as she attempted to absorb all the marvelous wonders in his base, while he just observed her from the side lines, seemingly in a haze of deep thought. She could only wonder what he was thinking about that made him so discontented looking.

  
  


**_~Later~_ **

  
  


"That was incredible!"

Lola struggled to contain her inner fangirl as both her and Zim made their way back to the entrance of the elevator.

Zim nodded in agreement.

Even though he had given her a solid 3 hour tour of his base, she bairly noticed that any time had passed at all. She was far too focused on the wonders all around her, especially the one holding her hand through the whole thing.

Suddenly a worrisome thought slammed into her, knocking Lola off her pedestal of joy.

"Oh… uh, Zim? What time is it right now?"

Excitement had not been able to completely drain from Lola's voice, but the realization of a forgotten responsibility had diluted it fairly well.

Zim's ruby eyes flicked over to a device mounted on the wall.

"8 and a few numbers."

His eyes turning back to Lola with a glint in them that she didn't quite recognise.

"Why?"

A line of shock drew itself on her face. Had she really been down here for that long?

"My parents, they've re-installed a curfew sense I've been, 'staying out too late'. My mom is going to murder me! I was supposed to be back an hour ago!"

It infuriated Lola that her parents still treated her like a kid. She was old enough to make decisions for herself, and to take care of herself, but unfortunately not rich enough to afford her own place to live.

Her parents had one simple rule: While she was under their roof, eating their food and racking up their electricity bill, she obeyed the rules they set out. Simple as that, and non-negotiable. Lola was so going to get it when she walked through her front door tonight.

"I'm super sorry, Zim. I had so much fun, and this was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced. Thank you so much for showing it to me! I can't even begin to thank you for letting me in on all of this. You are so sweet. I'll see you at school tomorrow!" 

Lola spoke with genuine appreciation and gratitude in every syllable she spoke as she waved goodbye to Zim and made her way towards the elevator. However, a sound of indignation from the Irken halted her motions as she looked back to him in confusion.

**_"You think that is enough?"_ **

The Irken started to move towards Lola with the same indignation that was in his tone earlier.

"Zim lets you into his precious base, shows you advanced technology beyond your thinking capabilities, and that's all that you have in return? I know you humans have a pathetically inferior culture, but a simple 'thanks' and then running off won't cut it with an Irken."

Lola involuntarily took a step back as Zim approached her, the alien getting far too close for comfort. There was something in his voice that she didn't like, just as much as there was a shimmer in his ruby eyes that was starting to scare her. Caution, and just the smallest drop of fear began to creep into her gaze as she held his hard stare.

"You see,  **_human_ ** . You're indebted to me for what I've done for you. I've shown you something that no one else in your world ever could ever even begin to comprehend, and I expect something back for it."

The suggestion that was rising in the undertone of his words was beginning to make Lola feel uneasy.

"I didn't know there were strings attached to your offer."

Her voice was coated with suspicion and dripping with a sort of skin-deep defense.

The Irken only chuckled a bit darkly in response.

"There were strings attached. Oh, how they were attached. There was no way you could've anticipated this, my deception was flawless. In case you haven't figured it out yet…  **you're not going home tonight** ."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 😶


	10. ~Chapter 10 - If This Is Love, I Don't Wanna Be Loved~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarcasm

Danger was ever present in The Irken's low voice as he licked his lips with his long, alien tongue.

Lola's eyes widened in sudden realization at the purpose she'd begun to suspect, but could hardly believe.

She took a step back, and then another, before she twisted around and tried to run for the elevator, fear now beginning to spill freely into her pounding heart.

"Computer."

The Irken ordered it so nonchalantly, almost as if implying he had done this before.

Before Lola could make it to her supposed salvation, long wires quickly wrapped themselves around her tightly. She struggled desperately as the wires turned her back to face Zim, but every move she made only caused the wires to gain a better grip on her. It was hopeless, but the icy terror that was washing through her didn't allow her to be idle. Her body, however, froze obediently when the alien's fingers brushed across her cheek.

His ruby eyes, built up with what Lola was now realizing to be desire, met with her panic-stricken ones. A burny fury coated the outside of her gaze, but Zim saw straight through to the scared little girl behind it.

"I'm not- I won't do this."

Lola's voice wavered in fear and the start of slow oxygen deprivation from the wires. The Irken shook his head in mocking exasperation, before returning his focus to her.

"Stupid, stupid  **_human_ ** . You see, you don't have a choice. The thing about Irken invaders is, when we make a demand, it's not a request."

The Irken's eyes burned with a deadly determination behind them.

"When we want something, we just take it."

With that, his lips slammed into hers.

From the sheer suddenness of the advance, Lola found herself unable to fight back as his rough motions forced an opening in her mouth for his tongue to slide through. Her breath caught in her throat when you felt the warm, foreign muscle inside of her mouth.

One thing was for certain,  **this was not the same Irken she had kissed at the dance** .

A strange shockwave of electricity hit Lola's nerves where his tongue flew across, and it rendered her practically immobile, not that she was able to do much with the wires around her anyways.

The Irken's mouth pressed voraciously into hers, as though trying to satiate a long-suffered hunger, his tongue moved rapidly over and over in an intricate pattern that felt more random than planned.

The kiss was as rough to its end as it had begun. When he pulled away, Lola decided that it was likely due to his own need for air, rather than hers. 

Dizziness made the room spin in front of hee, and the feeling of The Irken's lips practically tearing into yours lingered, as did his taste inside her mouth. 

Whether Lola chose to acknowledge it or not, a small part of her was disappointed that he had stopped.

However, she didn't have long to prepare for his next advance, as his oxygen break was short-lived.

With some silent command from The Irken that Lola didn't see, the wires unwrapped from around her torso and dropped her to the floor on her back, re-wrapping themselves tightly around her arms.

Had Lola had her full range of thought, she might have attempted to kick The Irken with her freed legs, but he was on top of her, pinning her down before her mind could process the opportunity.

The flood of fear had given way to nervousness within her, since her mind was too out of it to function well enough to output the terror she'd had before. It was as if the alien had sucked the adrenaline out of her with the kiss. For all she knew, that was exactly what he'd done.

Lola heard The Irken murmur something too low for her to make out as he began stripping her of her clothes. Whatever meager struggle she made to stop him was quickly ended with the aid of the wires and his own brute strength. He may not have looked it, but he was a lot stronger than she was. She had no edge in this fight.

Here, beneath him, Lola was the victim, and she couldn't do a thing to change that. God, how she hated how weak that made you feel. She hated how helpless she was as he revealed more and more of her bare skin, while she remained powerless to move. She hated it so much.

Unfortunately for Lola, that hatred translated into something that she preferred she didn't feel. The same small part of her mind piped up again, telling her that she'd dreamed of this moment before. Zim had a funny way of showing his affections, but then again he had a funny way of doing anything. That was part of the reason she liked him so much.

Lola hated that part of her mind for not succumbing to what she knew she should be feeling, but that hatred only further outlined the truth: she was kind of enjoying this domination.

It didn't take The Irken very long to finish with her clothes. He stared with a desire-fed flame in his eyes at her exposed body, as if packing the image away in his memory so he would never forget it. But, like any other respite Lola had, his pause didn't last. Before she knew it, The Irken's long tongue was again on her skin, making a zigzag pattern down her chest.

The muscles in Lola's body tightened when the wet organ slid across her chest, but The Irken didn't slow. He continued working his way downward, until he finally hit the spot he was looking for.

" **ZIM** !"

**(And that ends the at least semi-censored version. THANK GOD. If any of you, for some reason, wish to read the full, uncut, sex scene, you must wait until I finish this fanfiction completely. It's gonna be its own thing separate from this book. Mainly because I wanna focus on something other than smut in this book. I know, I'm such a tease right?~ Anyways, here is the basic aftermath)**

  
  


**_~One Smut Session Later~_ **

  
  


Lola had never felt so disgusting in her whole life.

After that ordeal, it was safe to say that her previous feelings for Zim had mostly disappeared.  _ Mostly. _ She hated the part of her that had enjoyed being touched like that, it was the most disgusting thing about her situation.

Just thinking about it, Lola felt the sudden urge to vomit again.

She leaned over the toilet and let everything out as she still sat naked on the strange tiled floor. Tears and bile mixed together in the bowl, creating a horrible elixir that leeched an odor that smelled almost as bad as her.

But it wasn't smells that disgusted her anymore.

Lola tried to stop herself from starting another uncontrollable sobbing session by looking over to the door.

A small bundle of towels had been placed there by GIR to help with the clean up, along with some actual edible waffles that were still steaming slightly.

Lola grabbed the towels and started to clean herself up, wiping away the vomit from her mouth as well as other fluid that she pretended to ignore the taste of.

She threw the dirty towel away and wrapped a clean one around herself, then grabbed another and wrapped it around her neck, trying to hide the guilt-filled bruises.

Unbeknownst to Lola, a small drone was whirring in the distance, hovering inside a one foot wide hole in the wall that had somehow gone unnoticed. A familiar bespectacled face behind it mimicked the unblinking stare of its attached camera, completely frozen in place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that happened…
> 
> Take this chapter as you will, but just know that I did warn you that shit was gonna get crazy, so don't blame me for any outbursts that occur in the comments


	11. WARNING PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE CHAPTER 10!

WARNING!  
SENSITIVE CONTENT FROM THIS POINT ONWARD IN THIS BOOK!

If you read the tags for this story, you were probably expected this warning to come at some point. But if you did, here is your official warning now: **DO NOT** read this story if the following content described disturbs and/or bothers you, or if you are under the age of 16.

Content in this story from now on will include the following:

Mentioned Rape/Non-Con

Abuse or Emotional Abuse

Fake or Abusive Relationship

Gaslighting

Mild Gore

Unhealthy Obsession

Suicidal Thoughts

Grooming

This list may be updated later, but again, if you are bothered or feel uncomfortable in any way by this content, **DO NOT** continue to read this story.

Thank you for reading thus far, and I wish you well! ❤

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this warning came so late.


	12. ~Chapter 11 - According To Plan~

It goes without saying that Dib was incandescent beyond belief.

He glared coldly at the alien sitting just a few desks away from him in the mostly-empty classroom, knuckles whitening as his fingernails dug into the various scabs on his palms.

Dib was barely retraining himself from reenacting the events of last night, especially since he couldn't stop himself from reliving it in his mind.

Gaz's drone had done an insultingly good job of capturing everything that occured in Zim's base last night, even though it was extremely aged looking.

Dib had been so furious in the moment that he had driven the drone all the way back to his house, then smashed it, the controller, and computer until they were broken beyond even what his Dad could repair.

But the door that separated Dib's room from the rest of the house had by far experienced the worst of his temper tantrum.

There was currently a one foot wide hole in his door, that is until Membrane returned home from his business trip and fixed it of course.

Dib was just lucky Gaz hadn't witnessed the incident as he had, God only knows what she would have done to Zim. It made him shiver to think about.

He also noticed that the voices were significantly louder today, though he couldn't make out exactly what they were saying.

Dib wasn't paying them much attention anyway, he was too distracted by the figure that had just entered the class room.

He could hardly believe the sheltered-looking teen he saw in the doorway was his true love at all.

Though she was still dressed well, Lola wore very muted colors like various shades of blue and green.

Dib couldn't remember the last time he saw her wear that old sweater, it was clearly too small for her form to look natural anymore, extenuating her curves far too much for his liking.

Zim most certainly noticed the changes, but he definitely didn't resent them like the bespectacled teen opposite him did.

Dib could feel blood begin to pool into his palms as Zim sadistically grinned at her, making it a fact to the whole class what he valued her for.

_ "Bastard. She is so much more than just a pretty face." _

Lola carefully shuffled over to her desk a few spaces behind Dib, hoping to draw less attention with her silence.

It was certainly a strange sight for him to see.

Usually she was so outspoken towards unfairness or injustice, always being the first to voice her opinion about it. Then again, she had never been the victim in those sorts of situations, so Dib didn't fault her for acting this way.

Lola shrunk back into her sweater and averted her eyes from Zim, blatantly uncomfortable by his staring.

Even so, she would occasionally glance back at him to see if he had stopped staring yet, her face portraying only trepidation and the occasional slight tinge of green while looking over.

Dib would make Zim pay for reducing her to this.

He wanted more than anything to rip out whatever filled the insides of the alien that leered so intensely at his soul mate.

Though it seemed a tough task to manage, Dib would have to control himself... for now. At least until Zim checked his locker.

  
  


**_~Later~_ **

  
  


The green boy stared inquisitively at the piece of notebook paper in his gloved hands, turning it slightly to see if he could understand it better from an angle.

It was clear Dib was trying to convey urgency and anger through the irken language in his declaration, though it was hard to understand with all the grammatical errors.

Even so, Zim understood very clearly that Dib was not  _ entirely _ stupid. He knew that the human discovered, albeit through spying, the exchange that had taken place between Lola and him yesterday night.

Zim also understood perfectly why Dib would be enraged.

After all, that was the whole point of entering a relationship with Lola, to make him weak and exploit the human concept known as "love".

_ "Good, then everything is going according to plan. Slightly overdone, but according to plan nonetheless." _

Zim smirked slightly as he strode down the empty hallway towards the school courtyard, confident that he would come out of this petty

foregather Dib had prepared unscaved.

Little did Zim know that this would be his last day of control over anything, fate would make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again guys! I'm really sorry this chapter took so long, but even still I had to end it on another cliffhanger, for the evils.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you're enjoying the decent into madness that is this storyline. It has been a ton of fun to write so far and even bigger things are coming ;)
> 
> Spoiler alert: more unrequited love between Dib and Lola. Yay!

**Author's Note:**

> AND SO IT BEGINS! Hope you guys like this! Just know that updates will be random as well as chapter length, so don't expect consistency with any of my stories. Also, most of my fanfictions are mainly just writing practice for (hopefully) a future career as an author. As always, tell me what you think, and if I made any grammer mistakes in the comments! Bye! ;D


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